This application relates to Ser. Nos. 060,604, 060,478 and 060,455 which are co-pending herewith.
This invention relates to an apparatus for tipping a bucket carried by a conveyor chain around a circuit to empty the contents at a predetermined location. The apparatus is characterized by providing a dwell time to the bucket in its inverted position as the bucket is rotated 360 degrees around a fixed pivot degrees to permit complete emptying of buckets.
The most effective way of dumping contents from a moving bucket is to move the bucket through a complete 360 degree revolution. The speed at which the bucket is inverted is directly proportional to the speed of the chain. For this reason, high speed conveyors rotate the bucket through a 360 degree revolution so fast that products having a relatively light density, for example, food and chemical products of less than 30 pounds per cubic foot may not be completely emptied from the bucket. The bucket is rotated so fast that the trailing edge of the bucket acts as a scoop and retrieves some of the contents before they fall free.
In accordance with the invention described below, this problem can be eliminated by increasing the dwell time of the bucket in the inverted position. This permits the contents to completely empty from the bucket before the continued rotation returns the bucket to its upright position.